Hyperlocalists might be familiar with the idea of content syndication, where larger news outlets pay smaller ones for permission to republish (or rebroadcast) their timely hyperlocal news. I’m not sure how often it’s done these days, but given the big push into hyperlocal news, it’s probably a reasonable revenue stream for hyperlocalists to pursue.
But one form of syndication I’d never considered is that of photographic content, and not just shots related to news events. Last week, an art director for a regional magazine requested permission to reprint a photo I’d taken for my former hyperlocal news site. The photo (right) was taken at a fashion show last year, and as it turned out, the magazine was publishing a small blurb about the show’s return to the area.
The best part: The art director offered to pay me a nice fee to reuse my previously published photo.
Moreover, I made myself available to this art director as a stock photography supplier. I’ve got a hard drive loaded with copyrighted pics of street scenes, food from local restaurants, seasonal and recurring events, and of course topical news items that this magazine and other publications might be interested in using. Why not capitalize on existing works.
Admittedly, selling republishing rights to regional magazines might not bring in big bucks immediately, but the magazine industry seems to be recovering from the recession. Also, advertising agencies might be interested in using a hyperlocalist’s photos and video to meet their clients’ needs. And other local businesses might make use of such content for self-produced print, broadcast and online promotional material.
The easiest way to publicize the availability of stock photography is to slap photos on the web, either on Flickr, a hyperlocal news site, a photo blog or some other online venue. The photos (or at least the web pages on which they’re posted) should have search engine-optimized titles that point directly to where and when the pics were taken. And all content should be labeled with a copyright statement and contact information.
I don’t expect to retire from my non-existent day job with income from reuse licenses, but it’s certainly an efficient revenue stream that hyperlocalists should consider.
Share and share alike
As I’ve said previously, I enjoy speaking with fellow hyperlocalists and learning of their own adventures in entrepreneurial journalism. Part of that enjoyment stems from the fact that I work from home with little to no human interaction during the day. And then there’s my genuine interest in what’s going on in other people’s lives.
Recently I spoke with one hyperlocalist whom I’ll call Loretta for privacy’s sake. Loretta operates a popular hyperlocal website and was invited to join a regional network that shares advertising revenue with its members while collecting a cut for itself. Currently, the network doesn’t have an umbrella site for aggregating its members’ content or directing readers to its members’ respective websites.
There’s only one thing about this arrangement that makes me leery. Revenue sharing assumes revenue, and when talking about advertising, that usually means page views. This network is so brand-spanking new that it doesn’t yet have an audience of its own and is relying on Loretta’s site and others to drive traffic. In other words, it can’t deliver page views to Loretta’s site. Instead, Loretta’s site will deliver page views to the network, which will then take its cut of the ad revenue.
The way I see it, if Loretta and other hyperlocalists are doing all the work to drive traffic, then they should reap most of the revenue. The network still deserves a cut for using its name and relative size to leverage ad sales, but the fact is, those ad sales won’t happen without the hyperlocalists’ hard-earned page views.
I don’t know the numbers of Loretta’s revenue-sharing arrangement, but I hope she gets her fair share of the deal. Best of luck, Loretta!
Photo courtesy of Flickr user enggul.